Savory Vegan Breakfast Bowl
on Apr 12, 2019, Updated Jul 24, 2024
This post may contain affiliate links.
This savory vegan breakfast bowl recipe features healthy ingredients like kale, mushrooms, onions, tofu scramble, avocado, brown rice and salsa for a nutritious breakfast that doesn’t skimp on flavour. It’s high in protein and contains healthy fats and complex carbohydrates for a balanced breakfast that will leave you energized all morning.
How to Make a Breakfast Bowl
Normally I’d be getting into the sweet ingredients you need to create a breakfast bowl but not today. Today we’re all about the savory. Let’s see what we got.
Add A Complex Carbohydrate
For this savory bowl I used brown rice. Adding a source of complex carbohydrates to your breakfast bowl provides the energy you’ll need to power through until lunch.
Here are some other options for complex carbs:
- roasted or mashed squash such as butternut, acorn or kabobcha
- pureed pumpkin
- roasted or mashed sweet potato
- whole grains such as steel cut oats, quinoa or brown rice
- roasted or steamed beets
Add Healthy Fats
Healthy fats help slow digestion of the carbohydrates and provide a range of essential fatty acids, vitamins and minerals. I used avocado in this bowl. like avocado for a source of fat since it contains plenty of fibre, antioxidants, vitamins, minerals and important essential fatty acids.
Here are some other options for healthy fats are:
- nut or seed butter such as tahini
- olives
- coconut butter (yummy if you’re adding sweet potato or squash)
- hemp seeds, sunflower seeds
- almonds, walnuts, pecans, cashews or any other nut
- coconut bacon
Add A Plant-Based Protein Source
To added tofu scramble to this bowl to boost the protein. Other choices include:
- tempeh bacon
- marinated tempeh
- lentils
- chickpea, pinto beans or black beans
- seitan
- edamame
- hemp seeds
Keep in mind that all of the ingredients in this dish have protein in them, some just have more than others. With plant foods there’s a lot of overlap in macronutrients and aside from seitan, you don’t find the straight sources of protein like you do with meat or fish. No problem thought because along with all that plant-based protein, you’re also getting fibre, antioxidants and essential vitamins and minerals such as magnesium, iron, calcium and zinc.
You can read more about plant-based protein in my guide to vegan protein.
Bonus: Fermented Foods
You guys know I’m all about optimizing digestive health. We talked about it a lot in this post on how to build a healthy gut and this post on anti-inflammatory living.
One way to do this is to consume fermented foods on a daily basis. I love my daily sauerkraut and kombucha to get all the gut-friendly bacteria I need to keep my gut happy. I actually forgot to add my daily sauerkraut for the recipe photos, my that’s my go-to for a daily boost of probiotics.
Some other options would include:
- pickles
- pickled red onions
- tempeh
- sauerkraut
- plain coconut or cashew yogurt
- kimchi
- miso (you could make a sauce)
Add Final Flavours
I kept this bowl simple and just added some salsa, salt and pepper and a dash of hot sauce. Some other yummy sauce options would be:
- chimmichuri sauce
- chipotle sauce
- avocado sauce
- tahini sauce
- kale walnut pesto
- lemon tahini sauce
Why Savoury Breakfasts?
As much as I love my morning oatmeal, toast and smoothies, they leave me craving carbs (sugar) all morning. I can eat a bowl of oatmeal and want a bagel and peanut butter an hour later. I’ve always struggled with sugar and carb cravings but switching to a very low-sugar diet and adding more healthy fats to my diet has been a game changer for me.
When I do eat breakfast that are more carb-heavy I do make sure to keep them balanced by adding fat and protein but that sweetness still triggers cravings. Depending on your body and how you respond to carbohydrates, you may also feel an energy crash after a sweet breakfast. This is caused by your blood sugar spiking and the subsequent crash as you body tries to compensate. After this occurs, the last thing you want to do is eat more carbs.
So this is why I choose savory vegan breakfasts most days. It totally depends on you and your body though. I workout before breakfast, so the carbs are fine to re-fuel, however, low-sugar unrefined carbohydrates are still the best choice for me.
Meal Prep These Bowls
These bowls are easy to meal prep for quick breakfasts during the week. To meal prep these:
- cook the brown rice and store in the fridge
- pre-chop the veggies and store in containers
- mix up the tofu scramble ingredients and store
You can either assemble a few days worth of bowls ahead of time or just make them each night or morning as you need them. I would leave the avocado until the night before or day of to keep it fresh though.
More Savory Vegan Breakfasts
Loving this breakfast bowl? Here are some more savory vegan breakfast recipes:
- Tempeh Bacon Avocado Breakfast Bowls
- Vegan Sweet Potato Breakfast Burritos
- Vegan Breakfast Burrito Bowl
- Healthy Vegan Breakfast Burritos
- Vegan Breakfast Tacos
- Vegan Breakfast Casserole
- The Best Tofu Scramble Recipe
- Vegan Savory Oatmeal Breakfast Bowls with Kale
Savory Vegan Breakfast Bowl
Ingredients
For the Tofu Scramble
- 100 g crumbled medium or firm tofu, approx. 1/2 cup
- 1 tsp turmeric
- salt and pepper
- dash or soy sauce
- 1 tbsp water
For the Sautéed Veggies
- 1 big handful of kale, de-stemmed and chopped
- 1 cup sliced mushrooms
- 1/2 cup diced white onions
For the Bowls
- 1/2 an avocado
- salsa
- 1/2 cup cooked brown rice
Instructions
- In a small dish, mix up the tofu scramble ingredients then set aside. If you’re only making one serving, I’d recommend mixing it up in a dish before cooking. If you’re making a whole package of tofu, you can add everything right into the pan as it’s easier to mix.
- Next, cook the kale, mushrooms and onions. To make them, add them to a skillet over medium-high heat with either a splash of water or 1/2 tsp olive or avocado oil. Cook for 5-8 minutes until tender and browned. Don’t stir too often in order to let them brown. Once they’re cooked, scoop into a bowl.
- In the same pan, add the tofu mixture and cook for 5 minutes until heated through and starting to brown. Alternatively, you can just add the tofu scramble mixture to the kale and mushrooms as they cook and serve it all mixed up.
- To assemble the breakfast bowls, add the tofu scramble to the bowl with the kale mixture then add brown rice, avocado and salsa. Serve right away or pack up for meal prep.
I love this so much. I make it with bulgur instead of brown rice. So good:)
Sounds like such a wholesome start to the day!
Hi, I love the look of this 😍 could I ask what you class as a portion of Tofu? Is it half a cup? I’m seeing varying amounts online. Thanks 😊
Hi, about 100 g or 1/2 cup.
If you meal prep ahead of time is it good cold or will you need to warm it before eating?
It’s up to you! You can eat it cold or it can be reheated.